Indicator for cooling systems of automobiles



Aug. 4, 1931. H. E. CHRISTIE ET AL INDICATOR FOR COOLING SYSTEMS OFAUTOMOBILES Filed Sept. 23, 1926 m 5 9 0 J H 3 d f x i.. 5 Mi 7 lillPatented Aug. 4, 1931 um'raos'ra'ras PATENT OFFICE HOWARD E. CHRISTIEAND KIBBE'Y W. COUSE, OF .BROINX NEW YORK INDICATOR IOR COOLING SYSTEMSOF AUTOMOBILES Application filed September 23, 1926. Serial No. 137,278.

This invention relates to an indicator for the cooling system ofautomobiles or otherwise, the same being in the nature of an imgrovementupon our' pending application erial No. 122,783 filed July 16th, 1926.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device forindicating the extent to which the water or other fluid in the coolingsystem is immune from freezing, as by visually indicating the specificgravity of the fluid at all times.

A more detailed object of the present improvement is to provide a moreetficient means by which to maintain an artificial fluid level for theproper functioning of the hydrometer element employed. I

A further and more specific object is to provide a device which may betapped into the motor cooling system at any convenient point and whichwill furnish an artificial level for the operation of the hydrometerelement, and to provide manually operable means whereby the fluid levelmay be conveniently and quickly restored to its normal position in theevent of any deviation therefrom.

Other obj ects and aims of. the invention, more or less specific thanthose referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed outin the course of the following description of the elements,combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principlesconstituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplatedwill be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which is to be taken as a part of thisspecification and in which I have shown merely a preferred form ofembodiment of the invention, there is'illustrated a vertical sectionalview through an indicator device constructed in accordance with thisinvention, said device being connected with the cooling system of anautomobile engine.

Referring to the drawing for describing in detail the structure thereinshown, the reference character L indicates a part of the cooling systemof the engine as for instance the flexible connecting pipe which isusually employed extending between the upper part of the engine and theupper part of the radiator, as more fully described in the co-pend- 1ngapplication referred to.

The indicator device comprises a base mom ber G, a cap member H, alength of trans arent glass tube 1 extending between the use and cap,and suitable clamp rods as 2 and 3 also extending between said base andcap to hold the same in clamp connection with the opposlte end portionsof the glass tube.

The lower end of the glass tube is received within a suitable seat 4provided within base G and lts lower annular edge portion rests uponarubber gasket 5 arranged within said seat, 1n engagement with a shoulder6 thereof, to complete a water tight joint between' the tube and thebase. Within the upper end portion of the tube 1s arranged a partitionmember 7 which tightly engages against the walls of the tube and therebypositively and completely separates the extreme upper end portion of thetube from the lower portion of the tube except that a passageway as 8 isprovided through said partition into which is fitted a small tube 9extending downwardly from the passage8 to a suitable point as 10 belowthe level of the partition.

The base G is hollow and provides an open passage as 11 therethroughcommunicating between the interior of tube 1 and the interior of thepipe L so that the water, or other cooling fluid, within the pipe L,will move freely upwardly into the glass tube 1. As the water rises inthe tube 1 the air above it within said tubewill flow outwardly throughthe small tube 9 until the level, as 12, of the fluid reaches a pointwhere the outflow of air is out 01f by the fluid closing the lower endof the small tube. The fluid will rise within the small tube but themain level 12 will be forced to stand at approximately the level of thelower end of the small tube.

Within the main tube 1 is a hydrometer element 13 readable at the level12 which level it will now be understood may be correctly referred to asan artificial level, that is a level artificially created below the mainlevel of the cooling fluid within pipe L. By reading the hydrometer atthe level 12 definite information may be secured by the user' as to theroportions of non-freezing ingredient to t e whole quantity -of coolingfluid in the system, and the user will thus be able to maintain a pro orproportion. The gradnation's upon the ydrometer may if desired be markedto indicate by figures, or otherwise, the exact strength required for areplenishing supply. For instance at a given height the hydrometer maycall for one ounce of non-freezing ingredient to each quart of wateradded to the system. At another hei ht it may call for two ouncesof thenonreezin ingredient, and so on, as more fully set orth in theco-pending application referred to.

The partition member 7 is preferably made of rubber or like resilientmaterial having a central cavity as 14 in its under side intowhich theupper'end portion as 15 of the hydrometer extends, the side wall partsas 16 of said partition member thus serving as a cushion against whichthe portion 15 may strike without injury at any time as for instanceduring the rough movements of an automobile or'the like to which thedevice may be connected. The lower, or bulbous portion of the hydrometeris provided with small projections 17 thereon arranged to 811- gageagainst the side walls of the tube 1 but being normally so near to saidwalls as to revent any forceful or injurious blows being struck. Bythese means the life of the hydrometer device is practically insured.

At the u per end ofthe main tube 1, and interposed between the upper endedge thereof and the bottom surface ofcap H is a clo sure member 18 madepreferably of rubber s'o that it comprises a gasket between the tube 1and ca H and prevents injury to the tube he rods 2 and 3 are tight.Centrally of this closure member 18 is a passageway 19.

I Concentrically of this passage-way at the under side of the closure 18is an annular rib constituting a valve seat 20 which is prefer- 1yupwardly into the passage 19 and serving ereby to maintain the valve 21in proper co-operative relation with its seat 20.

Below the valve 21 and adapted to rest upon the upper surface as 23 ofthe partition member 7 1s a float member 24, of cork or otherappropriate material. a

The closure 18 is preferably provided with an annular skirt portion 25arranged to enclose the valve 21 and float 24. to thereby obscure theseparts from external view and thus improve the outward appearance of thefinishedarticle, and the upper surface 23 of being such that when therods 2 an the partition 7 is preferably slightly rounded so as to reducethe power of capillary attraction as between said surface andthe float.

It will be ap arent from this construction that all air rising throughthe small tube 9 during the time while the fluid is movingupwardly-toward tube 9, as during the initial at its normal position atthe lower. end of tube 9 is of course dependent upon the presence of agiven amount of air pressure within the cavity as 24, between the level12 and the under side of the partition 7. It has been found in practicethat the pressure oflair within this cavity however gradually diminishes with the passing of time, due to causes which at present seem tobe unavoidable, and that the level 12 raises accordingly.

To meet this situationthe present invention includes the provision of asim le pump device 25 by which a new supply 0 air may at any time bemanually forced into the cavity 24. This pump device consists of a softrubber inverted cup shaped member arranged over the upper side of theclosure 18 and providing an air chamber 26 between itself and saidclosure. 1 Its central portion projects upwardly through an opening 27provided concentr cally through capH, and it is provided with an annularflange portion 28 disposed between the under side of cap H and the upperside of closure 18, the arran ement 3 are tightened the caprH serves toseal the joint between the marginal parts of the 'pump member andclosure 18. The top wall as 29 of the pump member is slightly convexed,and centrally thereof is a small opening 30.

Any air moving outwardly through the passage 19, as heretoforedescribed, is normally free to move through the opening 30.

To pump, air downwardly into the cavity-24 however it is simplynecessary for an operator to place his finger upon the upper surface ofthe pump member, thereby closing opening 30-, and then, by flexing thewall 29 downwardly a portion of the air within the chamber 26 will beforced downwardly past the valve.21 and through the tube 9 into thefluid within the tube 1 whereupon it will immediately rise .into thecavity 24 and force the level 12 downwardly in accordance with thevolume of the air thus injected. By repeating this operation ofdepressing the .top portion of the pump member a suitable number oftimes a suflicient quantity of air may be quickly'injected into thecavity 24 to restore the level 12 to the desired position. Any excess ofair which may be. pumped into the cavity 24 may temporarily depress thelevel 12 beyond the bottom end of tube 9 but as soon as the pumpingaction is stopped the fluid will of course again rise to the bottom 3 ofthe tube 9 as in the first instance.

If desired a suitable rubber cushion member 31 may be arranged withinthe base G to receive the lower end of the hydrometer member when at anytime the level of the fluid should drop to a point below the. floatinglevel of the hydrometer.

As a convenient means of attaching the base G to the pipe L the drawingherewlth shows said base to be fitted with a threaded extension 32 whichmay be conveniently thrust through a suitable opening 33 provided toreceive it through the pipe L at an appropriate locality, it being notedin-this connection that in automobile construction said pipe L usuallyconsists of a piece of rubber tubing. Opposing washers as 34 and 35 anda clamp nut 36 may be provided by which the base member may be easilyclamped mto sealing engagement with the pipe.

While the device disclosed herein is particularly intended forindicatingthe degree to which the cooling fluid of an automobile engineis immune'to freezing, it will be understood however that it may beemployed with equal advantage wherever an artificial fluid level isrequired for the operation of an indicator device. And in fact that themeans here shown'for creating and maintaining an artificial fluid levelfor any purpose may be I, used to advantage in many relations eitherwith or without an indicator element.

As many changes could bemade in this construction without departing fromthe scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawing, shall be inter-' preted as illustrative onlyand not in a limiting sense.

It is to be particularly noted that during the action of the pump 25 theconsequent sudden injection of a stream, or streams, of air downwardlyinto the fluid closely adjacent to the hydrdmeter element will serve tosufliciently agitate said element to cause it i to become freelyloosened from any capillary or other attractive force whichmight at thetime be holding it against standing in true registering position.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Let ters Patent is V 1. An indicator device for a coolingsystem of the type set forth, said indicator device comprising atransparent tube adapted to contain a quantity of liquid, a hydrometerdevice arranged within said tube to float in said liquid, means tocreate an artificial liquid level within said tube for the operation ofsaid air pump havingan opening to the atmosphere and being manuallyoperable to pump air through said opening into the device for therebyforcing down said liquid level.

2. An indicator device for a cooling system of the typeset forth, saidindicator device comprising a transparent tube adapted to contain aquantity of liquid, a hydrometer device arranged within said tube tofloat in said liquid, said tube being open at: its lower end to receivethe liquid thereinto, a closure at the upper end of said tube providingan air passage therethrough for permitting the egress of air from saidtubeand the consequent rise of liquid within the tube, 'a valve arrangedto prevent the egress of liquid from the tube while permitting theegress of air, means by which to interfere with the egress of air andthe consequent rise of the main body of liquid to thereby create anartificial liquid level within the tube below said closure, and amanually operable pump arranged to inject air past said valve and intothe tube at will.

3. The combination with a cooling system of the type set forth having aquantity of liquid therein, of an indicator device comprising means bywhich to create an artificial liquid level at a point below the level ofthe liquid in the system, and air injector means manually operabletomaintain said artificial level.

4. The combination with a cooling system of the type set forth having aquantity of liquid therein, of an indicator device comprising atransparent tube, means by which said tube is connected in the system toreceive liquid thereinto, a hydrometer device carried within said tubeto float in the liquid therein, means to establish an artificial levelof liquid within the tube below the level of liquid in the system foroperation of the hydrometer device below the level of liquid in thesystem, said artificial level being however subject to'variation, andmeans to correct said variation at will comprising a manually operableair pump.

5.'An indicator device for a cooling system of the type set forth, saidindicator de- .vice comprising a transparent tube adapted to contain aquantity of liquid, a hydrometer device arranged within said tube tofloat in said liquid, said tube being open at its lower end to receiveliquid thereinto, and a closure at the upper end of the tube havinganair passage therethrough and having a projection extending downwardlytherefrom into the tube, said extension being hollow and providing apassage-way lon itudinally therethrough in continuation the mentionedair passage whereby to permit egress of air from the tube and theconsequent rise 5 of liquid'within the tube to-the level of the lowerend of said extension to thus create an artificial liquid level withinthe tube spaced below the closure. 1 T

6. 'An indicator device for a cooling system of the type set forth, saidindicator device comprising a transparent tube adapted to contain aquantity of liquid, '21 hydrometer device arranged within said tube tofloat in said liquid, said tube being open at its lower end to receiveliquid thereinto, and a closure at the upper end of the tube having anair passage therethrough and having a projection extending downwardlytherefrom into the tube, said extension being hollow and providing apassage-way longitudinally therethrough in continuation of the mentionedair passage whereby to permit egress of air from the tube and theconsequent rise of liquid within the tube to the level of the lower endof said extension to thus create an artificial liquid level within thetube spaced below the closure, together with means arranged above theclosure efi'ective to permit discharge of air from said passageway intothe atmosphere but to prevent passage of liquid through said passage-wayinto the atmosphere. v

7. An indicator device for a cooling system of the type set forth, saidindicator device comprising a transparent tube adapted to contain aquantity of liquid, a hydrometer device arranged within said tube tofloat in said liquid, saidtube being open at its lower end to receiveliquid thereinto, and a closure at the upper end of the tube having anair passage therethrough and'having a projection extendin i into thetube, said extension being hollow and providing a passage-waylongitudinally therethrough in continuation of the mentioned air passagewhereby to permit egress ofair from the tube and the consequent rise ofliquid within the tube to the level of the lower end of said extensionto thus create an artificial li uid level within the tube spaced belowthe c losure, together-with a manually o erable pump carried by the tubeabove the c osure by which to force air downwardly through saidpassage-way into the tube at will.

8. An indicator device for a cooling system of the type set forthcomprising a base member, a transparent tube, the base member having aseat provided therein into which the lower end of the transparent tubeengages, a closure for the upper end of the transparent tube overlyingthe upper edge surface of said tube, means interengaging between saidclosure and said base member by which to clamp the closure against thetransdownwardly therefrom parent tube and in consequence to clamp thelower end of the transparent tube against said seat in the base member,the base member adapted to be inserted through the wall of aliquid-carrying part of the cooling system and having an openingtherethrough communicating with the lower end of the transparent tubewhereby liquid from the cooling system may move into the transparenttube, the mentioned closure at the upper end of the transparent tubehaving an air passage therethrough for permitting egress of air from thetube and the consequent rise of liquid within the tube, meansautomatically operable to establish a liquid level within the tube at apoint spaced below the closure, and a hydrometer device arranged withinsaid tube readable at said liquid level.

9. An indicator device for a cooling sys tem of the type set forth,comprising a base member, a transparent tube, the base member having aseat therein into which the lower end of the transparent tube engages, aclosure for the upper end of the transparent tube overlying the upperedge s ur face of said tube, means interengaging between said closureand said base member by which to clamp the closure against thetransparent tube, and in consequence to clamp the lower end of thetransparent tube against said seat in the base member, the base memberadapted to be inserted through the wall of a liquid-carrying part of thecooling system and having an opening therethrough communicating with thelower end of the transparent tube whereby liquid from the cooling systemmay move .into the transparent tube, the mentioned closure at the upperend of the transparent tube having an air passage permitting egress ofair from the tubeand the consequent rise of liquid within the tube, asecond closure Within the tube spaced below the first closure to providea compartment between itself and the first closure, the second closurehaving an opening therethrough, the second closure having a hollowextension projecting downwardly therefrom providing a passage-waylongitudinally therethrough in continuation of the mentioned openingthrough the second closure whereby to permit egress of air from the tubeto the air passage of the first closure and the consequent rise ofliquid within the tube to the level of the lower end of said extensionto thus create an artificial liquid level within the tube spaced belowthe her having a seat therein into which the lower end of thetransparent tube engages, a closure for the upper end of the transparenttube overlying the upper edge surface of said tube, means interengagingbetween said closure and said base member by which to clamp the closureagainst the trans )arent tube and in consequence to clamp the ower endof the transparent tube against said seat in the base member, the basemember adapted to be inserted through the wall of a liquid carrying partof the cooling system and having an opening therethrough communicatingwith the lower end of the transparent tube whereby liquid from thecooling system may move into the transparent tube, the mentioned closureat the upper end of the transparent tube having an air passagepermitting egress of air from the tube and the consequent rise of liquidwithin the tube, a second closure within the tube spaced below the firstclosure to provide a compartment between itself and the first closure,the second closure having an opening therethrough, the second closurehaving a hollow extension projecting downwardly therefrom providing apassage-way in continuation of the mentioned opening through the secondclosure whereby to permit egress of air from the tube to the air passageof the first closure and the consequent rise of liquid within the tubeto the level of the lower end of said extension to thus create anartificial liquid level within the tube spaced below the second closure,a hydrometer device arranged within said tube readable at said level,and a float valve arranged in said mentioned compartment for controllinthe air passage of the first closure, together with means roviding amanually operable air pump a ove the first mentioned closure whereby airmay be forced at will downwardly through both closures into saidtransparent tube.

11. The combination with a cooling system of the type set forth having aquantity of liquid therein, of an indicator device comprising atransparent tube arranged in the system to receive liquid thereinto, aclosure for the upper end of the transparent tube having an air passagepermitting egress of air from the tube and the consequent rise of tubespaced'below the second closure and below the level of the liquid in thesystem, a

tures.

HOWARD E. CHRISTIE. KIBBEY W. COUSE.

liquid within the tube, a second closure within the tube spaced belowthe first closure to rovide a com artment between itself and the rstclosure, t e second closure having a hollow opening therethrough, "thesecond closure having an extension projecting downwardly therefromproviding a passage-way in continuation of the mentioned opening throughthe second closure whereby to permit egress of air from the tube to theair passage of-the first closure and the consequent rise of liquidwithin the tube to the level of the lower end-of said extension to thuscreate an artificial liquid level within the

